Identities of 3 people killed at Billerica auto auction released

BILLERICA, Mass. — The three people killed after being hit by a car at an auto auction in Billerica have been identified by the Middlesex County District Attorney.

Brenda Lopez, 48, of Rhode Island, and Pantaleon Santos, 49, of Rhode Island, were pronounced dead at the scene. Leezandra Aponte, 36, of Lowell, was transported to Lahey Hospital where she was later pronounced dead.

Aponte's brother told Boston 25 News that she was a loving mother who had just started working at the auction as a temp.

“I was working I was at my job my mom called me and said, 'Your sister got in an accident,'" Orlando Aponte said. “I called Lowell General asked if my sister is here. They said no. I called this place [Lahey Hospital] and they said they’re going to transfer me to another person. That person said, 'I need you down here.'"

“My mom was a God-fearing Christian woman,” Richard Meza Lopez said about his mother Brenda. “She worked at the car dealership with my aunt and my uncles. My father help them out as well.”

Brenda Lopez had four children and had been working at the auction for more than a decade, saving money to follow her dreams of opening a church.

In addition to the three deaths, nine people were between the ages of 33 and 55 were injured. Only one of the injured people remains in the hospital.

A man in his 70s was driving a 2006 Jeep Cherokee at the auction when he accelerated through a cinder block wall. The DA says their investigation shows that it was not intentional.

Cox Media Group